TRUE EXPRESSIONS PHOTO : TRAVIS CLARKE
I ’ M THANKFUL THAT MY LIFE DOTH NOT DECEIVE
I ’ m thankful that my life doth not deceive Itself with a low loftiness , half height , And think it soars when still it dip its way Beneath the clouds on noiseless pinion Like the crow or owl , but it doth know The full extent of all its trivialness , Compared with the splendid heights above . See how it waits to watch the mail come in While ’ hind its back the sun goes out perchance . And yet their lumbering cart brings me no word , Not one scrawled leaf such as my neighbors get To cheer them with the slight events forsooth ,
Faint ups and downs of their far distant friends — And now ’ tis passed . What next ? See the long train Of teams wreathed in dust , their atmosphere ; Shall I attend until the last is passed ? Else why these ears that hear the leader ’ s bells Or eyes that link me in procession ? But hark ! the drowsy day has done its task , Far in yon hazy field where stands a barn , Unanxious hens improve the sultry hour And with contented voice now brag their deed — A new laid egg — Now let the day decline — They ’ ll lay another by tomorrow ’ s sun .
Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862
PORTFOLIO MAGAZINE 79